1
as in candidate
one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award
a strong contender for the mayoral position
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in competitor
one who strives for the same thing as another
several contenders competing for the title of the city's best Italian restaurant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contender
Former star Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who never won a playoff game in his seven seasons in Cincy, was previously critical of Brown, who assumed ownership in 1991, and his lack of spending to build a championship contender.
—
Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 19 Mar. 2025
The movie is set for release on Dec. 25, which could suggest the studio plans to position it as an awards contender for the 2026 Oscars.
—Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025
Why not to pick 'em: Houston is considered by analysts to be a contender to win it all, while SIUE has no experience handling the bright lights of March Madness.
—Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025
On paper, this is a national championship contender.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contender
Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 19 Mar. 2025
The movie is set for release on Dec. 25, which could suggest the studio plans to position it as an awards contender for the 2026 Oscars.
—Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025
Why not to pick 'em: Houston is considered by analysts to be a contender to win it all, while SIUE has no experience handling the bright lights of March Madness.
—Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025
On paper, this is a national championship contender.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contender
Noun
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Just whittling down a potential pool of hundreds of jury candidates is expected to last as many as three days at the end of April, the judge said, before the final panel undergoes voir dire questioning, scheduled to begin the first few days of May.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
14 Mar. 2025
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The mean number of external letters per candidate was 6.25.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This aggressive expansion strategy closely mirrors competitor Stripe's record-breaking $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge Network, which was the largest deal in crypto history.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
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And O’Neill, a two-time Oscar nominee, dismissed any talk about Silicon Valley giants needing fewer guardrails, and not more, to protect U.S. dominance in digital technologies against global competitors like China.—
Etan Vlessing,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
And Bong is the wrong pop artist to convey cultural dissent — as Kendrick Lamar did in his controversial Super Bowl Halftime Show that portrayed black Americans as video game figures resembling Mickey in his space suit and those contestants in Squid Game TV series.—
Armond White,
National Review,
12 Mar. 2025
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Further, protecting contestants from isolation and being exemplified or tokenized – at all levels of productions – is needed to provide greater accountability when portraying the raw realities of LGBTQ people on screen in a reality setting.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The resort’s sculpture garden rivals those found in museums.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
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No, but Chicago Bears have division rivals’ attention with offseason roster rebuild.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contender. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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